A Circuit Court judge has told a Knocknagoshel woman accused of defaming Michael Healy-Rae that she must furnish proof of her allegations by next week.
Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae sought an interlocutory injunction against Knocknagoshel woman Michelle Keane, over allegedly defamatory posts about him online.
The application before Judge Ronan Munro at Tralee Circuit Civil Court was under Section 33 of the Defamation Act, meaning the allegations themselves cannot be reported.
The application relates to posts Ms Keane made on social media, which Mr Healy-Rae has alleged are defamatory to his character.
Barrister for Mr Healy-Rae, Elizabeth Murphy, told the court that Ms Keane publishes these allegations on her Instagram, TikTok, YouTube pages, in five/ten/fifteen-minute monologues.
Ms Keane said her videos are not that long.
Ms Murphy said Ms Keane’s affidavit fails to demonstrate any basis for these allegations, and it shows she has a copper-fastened misunderstanding of defamation.
She said a supplemental affidavit by her client outlined more recent posts, but that it wasn’t bang up to date as she could not keep up with the posts.
Judge Munro put it to Ms Keane that she accepts she said these very serious things about Mr Healy-Rae; Ms Keane replied that she was speaking the truth.
Judge Munro said the first part is that she accept she said these things; next, he had to decide on whether they injure his reputation, and he said that has been proved.
He said there are a range of defences open to her, including truth, but this must be proved with evidence, and he didn’t see anything looking like proof.
He said some of her evidence appears to be hearsay, or her own beliefs, and Judge Munro repeatedly asked what proof Ms Keane has for her allegations.
Judge Munro also repeatedly asked Ms Keane to stop interrupting him.
Ms Keane said her evidence is her posts, she has freedom of speech and these are her opinions.
In relation to one aspect of her allegations, Ms Keane said the dog in the street knew this; Judge Munro replied that she’s not going to call the dog in the street to give evidence.
He told Ms Keane that when she decides to air her grievances and say very serious things on the internet, she has a responsibility to make sure that these things are true, prior to publication; he told her, she had brought this on herself.
Ms Keane asked for a short adjournment so that she could have legal representation, as she has a barrister who has said they’ll represent her.
Judge Munro said he will give her an adjournment to next Wednesday, but she must file affidavits outlining all the evidence and proof she has for her allegations with the court office by Monday at noon.
At the request of barrister Ms Murphy, Judge Munro ordered that Ms Keane refrain from posting about Mr Healy-Rae, his service or his agents until the next court date; Ms Keane gave her word she would do this.
